A short walk will bring you into the main quandrangle of the
Pillnitz complex, where you'll see the Neues Palais
. (The New Palace was built between 1818 and 1826, to replace the Old Palace
that had burned down on May 1, 1818.)

You'll also view the landward side of the
Wasserpalais, or Water Palace, which you
already saw from the Elbe if you arrived by boat. (See photo on
page 1 of this article.)

The central gardens of the Pillnitz are formal in design. The
Pleasure Garden, for example, began as a Baroque garden under Augustus the
Strong but was redesigned several times during the 19th Century.

Park benches face the Pleasure Garden and the Neues Palais.

The Maillebahn was once used for playing pallamaglio
(Italian for "paille-maille" or "pall-mall"), a now-defunct French and English
game with a passing resemblance to croquet.

In 1965, the former pallamaglio alley was planted with rows of
chestnut trees on both sides. When I visited Pillnitz in October, the local
squirrels had been feasting on chestnuts, and shells were scattered along the
path.

As I headed toward the boat landing, I saw these signs:
one forbidding horseback riding, the other telling bicyclists to get off and
push their bikes.

By late afternoon, many Pillnitz visitors were ready to return
home.

Other locals preferred to walk along the Elbe on foot with their
dogs.

If you live outside the EU, a tax-free Renault or Peugeot tourist car lease can be cheaper than renting for visits of three weeks or longer. Minimum driver age is 18, there' s no upper age limit, and rates include insurance.